AN archive of papers belonging to LS Lowry that was found by a rag-and-bone man has revealed just how cheaply the artist’s paintings sold for in the Sixties.

Lowry’s famous “matchstick men” paintings – which can now fetch millions of pounds – were changing hands for as little as £35, the documents show.

One 1962 note reveals his painting Old Houses sold for £45 – and is now worth £500,000.

Another work, also from 1962, Country Road Near Lytham, sold for £35. Last year it went for more than £300,000. The papers also include hand-written letters by Lowry, bank statements and credit notes from galleries. They date from 1956 to 1966 and are to be sold at auction on Thursday, where they are expected to fetch £800. The papers were found by George Stevens outside a scrap yard in Ardwick, Manchester.

His son John, from West Yorkshire, said: “My dad was a rag-and-bone man and he also owned a scrap yard. In 1981 someone dumped some black bin liners outside the yard and they had been torn open and the papers were blowing everywhere.

Lowry’s famous “matchstick men” paintings – which can now fetch millions of pounds – were changing hands for as little as £35, the documents show

“My father saw the name Lowry and realised they might be interesting and gathered as many up as he could. He handed them into the police but no one came forward so they were returned to him and they’ve been sitting in a box ever since.”